Events

February 23 – Première of Pierre Beaumarchais's play, The Barber of Seville, which will later provide material for more than one opera.
Wilhelm Hauser becomes organist at the monastery of Lavaldieu and the teacher of Étienne Méhul.

Classical music

Carl Friedrich Abel – 6 String Quartets, Op. 12
John Alcock Jr. – 8 Easy Organ Voluntaries
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
- Symphony in D major, H.663
- Symphony in F major, H.665
Johann Christian Bach – Sinfonia concertante, W.C 34
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach – Keyboard Sonata in G major, F.7
Giovanni Battista Cirri – 6 String Quartets, Op. 13
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf – Concerto for Oboe in D major
Tommaso Giordani – 6 Flute Trios, Op. 12
Joseph Haydn
- Baryton Trio in D major, Hob.XI:114
- Il Ritorno di Tobia, Hob.XXI:1 (sacred oratorio)
- Mass in B-flat major, Hob.XXII:7
Joseph Martin Kraus – Requiem
Georg Anton Kreusser – 6 Flute Quintets, Op. 10
Franz Lamotte – Violin Concerto No. 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Violin Concertos No. 3, No. 4 & No. 5
- Symphony in C major, K.102/213c
- Serenade in D major, K.204/213a
- Church Sonata in B-flat major, K.212
- Misericordias Domini, K.222/205a
Friedrich Wilhelm Rust – Sonata in A major, CzaR 110
Friedrich Schwindl – 6 Quartets, Op. 7
Maddalena Laura Sirmen – 6 Duets, Op. 5
Johann Matthias Sperger – Quartet in D major, for flute, viola, cello, and contrabass, M.C III:23a
Carl Stamitz – 3 Quintets, Op. 11
John Stanley – Six Concertos for the Organ, Harpsichord, or Forte Piano, with Accompanyments [sic] for Two Violins and a Bass, Op. 10 (London: Printed for the Author, and Sold by Mr Welcker)
Johann Adolph Hasse – La Danza

Johann André – Erwin und Elmire
Pasquale Anfossi – L'Avaro
André Ernest Modeste Grétry – La fausse Magie
Joseph Haydn – L'incontro improvviso, Hob.XXVIII:6
Gaetano Latilla – Antigono
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- La finta giardiniera, K. 196 (premiered January 13)
- Il re pastore, K. 208
Josef Mysliveček – Il Demofoonte (second version, first premiered in 1769)
Giovanni Paisiello
- Socrate immaginario, R.1.48
- Il gran Cid, R.1.49

Andrea Basili – Musica universale armonico pratica
Marie-Dominique-Joseph Engramelle – La Tonotechnie
Fedele Fenaroli – Regole musicali per i principianti di cembalo
Johann Caspar Heck – Short and Fundamental Instructions for Learning Thorough Bass
Jacob Schuback – Von der musikalischen Declamation

January 21 – Manuel del Pópulo Vicente García, singer and composer (d. 1832)
March 24 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, poet and composer (d. 1835)
May 1 – Sophia Dussek, composer and musician (died 1831)
June 4 – Francesco Molino, guitarist and composer (d. 1847)
June 13 – Antoni Radziwiłł, politician and musician (d. 1833)
July 5 – William Crotch, composer (d. 1847)
July 9 – Matthew Lewis, librettist and writer (died 1818)
August 2 – José Ángel Lamas, composer (d. 1814)
August 31 – François de Fossa, guitarist and composer (d. 1849)
September 17 – Margrethe Schall, ballerina (d. 1852)
October 6 – Johann Anton André, German composer (died 1842)
October 15 – Bernhard Henrik Crusell, clarinettist and composer (d. 1838)
October 21 – Giuseppe Baini, composer and music critic (d. 1844)
October 30 – Catterino Cavos, organist, conductor and composer (d. 1840)
December 6 – Nicolo Isouard, Maltese composer (died 1818)
December 16 – François-Adrien Boïeldieu, composer (d. 1834)
December 25 – Antun Sorkočević, writer, composer and diplomat (d. 1841)
date unknown
- Joseph Antonio Emidy, violinist and composer (d. 1835)
- Andrea Nozzari, operatic tenor (d. 1832)
- Giovanni Schmidt, Italian librettist (died c. 1839)